TRANSMISSION: A fire incident report indicates at least 13 Oregon wildfires were caused by downed power lines, but questions are being asked about why lines remained live for two utilities before winds knocked them down. (KTVZ, Salem Statesman Journal) 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A community choice aggregator launches a $28 million electric vehicle charging infrastructure program in a California county. (Environment + Energy Leader)
• Arizona-based electric truck startup Nikola is the subject of two federal inquiries following a report accusing it of fraud, which the company disputes. (Axios)

***SPONSORED LINK: The National Solar Tour is going virtual! Sep. 24-Oct. 4. Meet solar owners from around the country. Hear about their experience going solar. Explore new technologies. Learn about solar’s role in energy equity and community empowerment.***

CLEAN ENERGY:
• Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during a climate world summit calls on governments to use stimulus programs to build a clean-energy economy. (Associated Press)
• Portland’s Clean Energy Fund launches with an $8.6 million request for proposals representing “the community’s best ideas for addressing climate change and advancing racial and social justice.” (Portland Business Journal)

PUBLIC LANDS: The Bureau of Land Management finds its January 2021 New Mexico lease sale will have “no significant” environmental impact. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

HYDROGEN: California’s energy commission approves a $39.1 million plan for 36 new hydrogen cell vehicle fueling stations. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

OIL & GAS:
• Shell Offshore files documents to return to Alaska’s North Slope and asks the state for its exploration plan to be valid for five years. (Anchorage Daily News)
• A Federal judge will not reconsider whether environmental groups were too late to challenge a pair of National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska oil and gas lease sales. (E&E News, subscription)
• Wyoming’s increased rig count isn’t good news for one struggling county. (Wyoming News Exchange)

SOLAR:
• A 67-MW solar project for Southern California Edison customers is fully operating. (Solar Power World)
• Two solar energy firms are collaborating on 13 MW of community solar projects in Colorado. (Solar Building)

STORAGE: A Colorado utility announces the purchase of a 175 MW solar project coupled with a 25 MW four-hour battery energy storage system. (KRDO)

***SPONSORED LINK: National Clean Energy Week Policy Makers Symposium is September 21- 25. Register to hear from members of Congress and leading clean energy innovators. Register today at https://nationalcleanenergyweek.org.***

TRANSPORTATION: A Colorado county is considering an all-electric transportation fleet. (Summit Daily)

COMMENTARY:
• Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ CEO advocates for the utility’s modular nuclear reactor project as a provider of abundant, carbon-free electricity. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• A California journalist says the Native American cultural land management practice of prescribed burning would help prevent wildfires and create jobs. (Salon)

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).